Christmas

One of Blake's family's Christmas traditions is to get a pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve. We get together with his family on Christmas Eve and celebrate Christmas and the kids wear their Christmas pajamas.

Christmas morning our kids were spoiled as usual. We have really tried to cut back since our kids don't need anything. We used to give our kids 3 gifts since that is what Jesus received from the wise men, but this year we did something a little different.

Our kids received 4 gifts:

Something they want,

Something they need.

Something they wear,

Something they read.

It went over pretty well. Santa brings them the gift they want and we bring them everything else. This year I made photo books of my kids as their gift they read. They turned out really cute. It is all about them from birth to the present. I was so busy video taping Christmas morning that I didn't take any pictures of them. Ooops.

This is my favorite present EVER. Gerrit loved the wrapping paper more than the presents he received. Blake wrapped him up and he was happy as can be. He didn't even move.

Snow...and More Snow

It just keeps snowing and just when I think it is done, it starts back up again. But that doesn't stop me from going out and shoveling the driveway. I have two very good helpers, Deilen and Kameni that pester me the whole time into making a snowman. I finally caved knowing that they would not stop until it was done. It was perfect snow to make one and it turned out pretty cute, a little lop sided, but still cute. Both of them kept hugging it they were so excited. Then Kameni decided to stand under the water faucet to the house and turn it on. She was drenched head to toe. Her boots had so much water in them that she sloshed when she walked. Needless to say she was freezing. So we had to go warm up with a nice cup of hot chocolate. Although we haven't accumulated a lot of snow, we will be having a white Christmas.

Is Anyone Else Having This Problem?

Is anyone else having this same problem? No, I don't mean needing a basement overhaul....I know, I know...mine does. What I really meant was do you like Internet shopping a little too much like me? Because of this I have become somewhat of a hermit. I would rather stay in my nice, cozy house and shop online than drag 4 kids out and fight with them about what kind of treat they are going to get. If any of you need boxes, please feel free to take all that you want. Man Bonnie, why couldn't you be moving now? I usually recycle them at Kaymin's school, but I haven't made it there recently. Then I was going to post them on KSL, but I can't decide if I really want to hassle with total strangers coming here. The sad thing is, I still have 13 more shipments coming! But let me clarify. Not all of these shipments are for me nor are they exciting. I also have a problem with buying ahead of time. I have already bought birthday presents for my kids and others, baby shower gifts, wedding presents, etc. I have issues passing up great deals so I buy them and stockpile them in my basement. Then when an occasion arises, I go there and get what I need. It works out great!

Kiddie Tag

Well, I finally have been catching up on my friend's blogs and noticed that Deilen was kiddie tagged by one of them. So I get to write down five great things about him.

1. He is my only child that is clean. He likes being clean and he likes to clean. He is very conscience of getting dirty and it is heavenly when he is eating gooey, ooey things. Very little to clean up. One of his favorite things to clean is the toilet. I don't ever have to get after him to clean his room, because he cleans up after he plays because he doesn't like messes.

2. He LOVES to help. He is the first one that runs to help me do anything. Whenever I am doing anything, he is the first to ask me if he can help. However, I started a chore chart this summer and the kids got to chose out of the "treasure basket" if they received so many stars for completing their chores. The "treasure basket" contains candy bars, small toys, and misc. treats that my kids do not get on a regular basis. Now every time he helps me he says he gets a candy bar. I'm not sure if he would continue to help if the "treasure basket" goes away. For now, he is wonderful.

3. Deilen will not eat until the blessing on the prayer is said. He gets really upset if I forget during the day when Kaymin and Blake are not home. I'm so glad he does...he keeps me in line.

4. He is very protective of his brother. If Gerrit is crying Deilen will run to me and tell me that Gerrit needs me. He will not stop bugging me until I have Gerrit in my arms. He is the first one that hears Gerrit when he wakes up from his nap. He runs in there and talks to him while yelling to me that Gerrit needs me. It is so cute.

5. He is best 3-year old colorer that I have seen. He loves to color and stays right in the lines and all. He has for about the last year. My kids colored cups this last week for Christmas and I couldn't tell the difference between Kaymin's and Deilen's. I had to have them point them out for me. He will sit for hours and color. He has been drawing stick figures with eyes, ears, hair, a nose, a mouth, fingers, and toes for about 1 1/2 years now. They just keep getting better and more detailed. Oh I don't know what I would do without him. He is such a great little boy. I just love him.

Seeing Santa

So we went to our Ward Christmas party on Friday night. My kids could hardly wait to see Santa. When we got up there, the kids all asked Santa for kittens....WHAT!!!! Okay, now I know I will have some highly disappointed kids come Christmas morning. I do not want animals indoors, and in a neighborhood that is the only way to have cats. If I lived by my parents, that would be a different story.

On Saturday Kaymin wanted to write Santa a letter. So all of the kids wrote Santa a letter asking him for things. The girls still wanted kittens and I could not change their minds for nothing. However, Deilen wanted two dinosaurs, a crocodile, a sword and a gun. Now that is do-able.

Gerrit's Blessing

On Sunday, we were able to bless Gerrit. Of course, something always has to go wrong right before whether it be a blow-out, spit-up or in our case, throw-up. Gerrit had an asthma attack right before walking out the door in his white outfit and he began coughing so hard that he threw-up formula (thank heavens since it is cream) all over his outfit. We cleaned up the best we could and ran out of the door, to only be late as usual. It was a wonderful blessing and he looked so cute. I was nervous he was going to start crying or coughing, but apparently he just sat there happy as could be. Afterwards we came back to our house to eat and I am so glad it is over. I stress out too much.

Gerrit Has Asthma

Boy, it sure has been awhile since I have been on here. Things around here have been hectic. Gerrit turned 6-months old and weighs 18 pounds 12 ounces and is 28 inches long. My doctor (actually ex-doctor, but we will get into later) said he had a 10-month old baby in earlier that was smaller than Gerrit. It is true, he is going to be a "big" boy. He has finally started to sit-up, but has also learned to scoot himself around. He is not fast by any means, but can move around nonetheless. For roughly 6-weeks now Gerrit has not been sleeping. He wakes up most nights and screams for 3 to 5 hours. He also goes into coughing spasms and has a hard time eating at night. Usually he refuses to eat baby food and takes him roughly an hour to drink a bottle. During the night there is nothing I can do to console him, so we have had to learn to let him cry it out. I have taken him into the doctor on two occasions, where the first I was told he just had congestion left over from a cold, and the other time that it sounded like he has reflux. So we started him on Zantac, but still nothing changed. Sunday his nose began to run because his two top teeth are coming in, and by Monday night he was awful. His cough was so gut wrenching that I thought he was throwing up. I ran into his room at least a million times checking on him. I decided I was switching doctors and taking him in. Luckily, at the doctor's office Gerrit went into a coughing spasm. The doctor's eyes got huge and couldn't believe that my other doctor couldn't find anything wrong with him. He said as he listened to his lungs that they were so tight and having a hard time pushing oxygen through them. He gave him prednisoleone (a steroid) and immediately he loosened up. They then gave him a breathing treatment and took x-rays of his lungs. I walked out of the doctor's office with a prescription for the steroids, xopenex, and a nebulizer. I was so happy to finally have some answers and help for my baby. Here it is now, two days later and I have a happy baby that has slept through both nights soundly and he looks and acts so much better. On Monday, I take him back for a follow up for Dr. Allred to re-evaluate him and discuss his life plan dealing with asthma. Thanks to all of my friends who highly recommended Dr. Allred.....I love him and he saved my baby!!!